Mark 12
12
1 And he began to speak to them in parables: "A man dug a vineyard, and surrounded it with a hedge, and dug a pit, and built a tower, and he loaned it out to farmers, and he set out on a long journey.
2 And in time, he sent a servant to the farmers, in order to receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the farmers.
3 But they, having apprehended him, beat him and sent him away empty.
4 And again, he sent another servant to them. And they wounded him on the head, and they treated him with contempt.
5 And again, he sent another, and him they killed, and many others: some they beat, but others they killed.
6 Therefore, having still one son, most dear to him, he sent him also to them, at the very end, saying, 'For they will reverence my son.'
7 But the settlers said one to another: 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him. And then the inheritance will be ours.'
8 And apprehending him, they killed him. And they cast him out of the vineyard.
9 Therefore, what will the lord of the vineyard do?" "He will come and destroy the settlers. And he will give the vineyard to others."
10 "And so, have you not read this scripture?: 'The stone which the builders have rejected, the same has been made the head of the corner.
11 By the Lord has this been done, and it is wondrous in our eyes.' "
12 And they sought to take hold of him, but they feared the crowd. For they knew that he had spoken this parable about them. And leaving him behind, they went away.
13 And they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to him, so that they might trap him with words.
14 And these, arriving, said to him: "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and that you do not favor anyone; for you do not consider the appearance of men, but you teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give the tribute to Caesar, or should we not give it?"
15 And knowing their skill in deception, he said to them: "Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, so that I may see it."
16 And they brought it to him. And he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's."
17 So in response, Jesus said to them, "Then render to Caesar, the things that are of Caesar; and to God, the things that are of God." And they wondered over him.
18 And the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, approached him. And they questioned him, saying:
19 "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if any man's brother will have died and left behind a wife, and not have left behind sons, his brother should take his wife to himself and should raise up offspring for his brother.
20 So then, there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and he died without leaving behind offspring.
21 And the second took her, and he died. And neither did he leave behind offspring. And the third acted similarly.
22 And in like manner, each of the seven received her and did not leave behind offspring. Last of all, the woman also died.
23 Therefore, in the resurrection, when they will rise again, to which of them will she be a wife? For each of the seven had her as wife."
24 And Jesus responded by saying to them: "But have you not gone astray, by knowing neither the scriptures, nor the power of God?
25 For when they will be resurrected from the dead, they shall neither marry, nor be given in marriage, but they are like the Angels in heaven.
26 But concerning the dead who rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, how God spoke to him from the bush, saying: 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?'
27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Therefore, you have gone far astray."
28 And one of the scribes, who had heard them arguing, drew near to him. And seeing that he had answered them well, he questioned him as to which was the first commandment of all.
29 And Jesus answered him: "For the first commandment of all is this: 'Listen, O Israel. The Lord your God is one God.
30 And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart, and from your whole soul, and from your whole mind, and from your whole strength. This is the first commandment.'
31 But the second is similar to it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
32 And the scribe said to him: Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth that there is one God, and there is no other beside him;
33 and that he should be loved from the whole heart, and from the whole understanding, and from the whole soul, and from the whole strength. And to love one's neighbor as one's self is greater than all holocausts and sacrifices."
34 And Jesus, seeing that he had responded wisely, said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that, no one dared to question him.
35 And while teaching in the temple, Jesus said in answer: "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
36 For David himself said in the Holy Spirit: 'The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I set your enemies as your footstool.'
37 Therefore, David himself calls him Lord, and so how can he be his son?" And a great multitude listened to him willingly.
38 And he said to them in his doctrine: "Beware of the scribes, who prefer to walk in long robes and to be greeted in the marketplace,
39 and to sit in the first chairs in the synagogues, and to have the first seats at feasts,
40 who devour the houses of widows under the pretense of long prayers. These shall receive the more extensive judgment."
41 And Jesus, sitting opposite the offertory box, considered the way in which the crowd cast coins into the offertory, and that many of the wealthy cast in a great deal.
42 But when one poor widow had arrived, she put in two small coins, which is a quarter.
43 And calling together his disciples, he said to them: "Amen I say to you, that this poor widow has put in more than all those who contributed to the offertory.
44 For they all gave from their abundance, yet truly, she gave from her scarcity, even all that she had, her entire living."
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Mark 12
12
Parable of the Evil Farmers
1Then Jesus began teaching them with stories: “A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 2At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. 3But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed. 4The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head. 5The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed, 6until there was only one left—his son whom he loved dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’
7 “But the tenant farmers said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 8So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.
9 “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others. 10Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
11 This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’ # 12:10-11 Ps 118:22-23. ”
12The religious leaders#12:12 Greek They. wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
Taxes for Caesar
13Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested. 14“Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?”
Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said, “Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin,#12:15 Greek a denarius. and I’ll tell you.” 16When they handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 “Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
His reply completely amazed them.
Discussion about Resurrection
18Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question: 19“Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.#12:19 See Deut 25:5-6. 20Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. 21So the second brother married the widow, but he also died without children. Then the third brother married her. 22This continued with all seven of them, and still there were no children. Last of all, the woman also died. 23So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
24Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. 25For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.
26 “But now, as to whether the dead will be raised—haven’t you ever read about this in the writings of Moses, in the story of the burning bush? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses, # 12:26a Greek in the story of the bush? God said to him. ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’#12:26b Exod 3:6. 27So he is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error.”
The Most Important Commandment
28One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’#12:29-30 Deut 6:4-5. 31The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’#12:31 Lev 19:18. No other commandment is greater than these.”
32The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. 33And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”
34Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
35Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple, he asked, “Why do the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David? 36For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’ # 12:36 Ps 110:1.
37 Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with great delight.
38Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. 39And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. 40Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.”
The Widow’s Offering
41Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.#12:42 Greek two lepta, which is a kodrantes [i.e., a quadrans].
43Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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